"It grew on me," Newsome said. "I like it better now because I feel like I've got more control of the game. I mean, the ball's in your hands the majority of the time, so you have to make something happen."

Which, of course, is why he's back there in the first place. He's not a natural at the position, and it's certainly not what he'll be playing at Virginia Tech next fall. But he is a special athlete, and that along with his understanding of the game — it's in his genetics, after all — makes him a true play maker.

Going into Friday night's Eastern Region Division 5 semifinal against Phoebus, Newsome has rushed for 1,074 yards and 13 touchdowns. Only a handful of Peninsula District quarterbacks — Hampton's Tyrod Taylor and Woodside's Aaron Evans among them — have broken four figures on the ground in a season before.

Newsome has completed 53-of-103 passes for 919 yards and a PD-leading 14 touchdowns. Thoug his nine interceptions are the second-most in the district.

But it's his ability to break a long run or turn a 5-yard loss into a 12-yard gain that creates nightmares for opposing defenses.

"That kid is special," Phoebus coach Jeremy Blunt said. "He's the best athlete in this district and, you can argue, in the state."

Blunt will get no argument from Hampton coach Mike Smith.

"He's a supurb athlete," he said. "He's coachable, he has a great mind, and he's tough. He's a competitor. He's got the DNA."

Newsome's father, Myron, is one of Smith's longtime assistants. He's also a former Crabber running back and linebacker who was the Peninsula District's Defensive Player of the Year in 1992. And he's a former linebacker at Virginia Tech, where was second-team All-Big East as a senior.

Deon's first shot at quarterback came in in the second game of his junior season against Norcom. He struggled, but his 35-yard pass to Jamall Brown set up the game-winning touchdown. He started the next week against Bethel, but once Jeremy Eubank returned from an injury, Newsome went back to wide receiver. He finished the year with 15 catches for 462 yards (30.8 per) and three touchdowns.

But Eubank graduated, and Hampton had no logical successor. So back Newsome went to quarterback.

"We knew he would be our quarterback this year," Smith said. "Unless Tom Brady moved into our zone."

Though he had to learn on the fly, Newsome was named first-team quarterback on the coaches' All-Peninsula District team. And in a backfield that includes 1,000-yard rusher Marshawn Williams and the speedy Roscoe Hale, Newsome is the most feared.

Consider what he did against Phoebus on Nov. 1. He rushed for 111 yards on 13 carries in the first half alone. Fifty of that came on the Crabbers' opening drive, on which they took a 7-0 lead.

Newsome was held in check in the second half, but that might have had something to do with the fact that he dislocated his kneecap on the first series of the third quarter. Still, he played on. And he was good to go the following week, when he torched Norcom for 109 yards on the ground and 86 in the air.

"It was kind of sore, but mostly it was weird," he said. "They wrapped it up and I was ready. Really, I didn't want them to wrap it up."

Smith still chuckles when he thinks about it.

"To come back and do what he did last week is unbelievable," he said. "But not only is he tough and athletic, he's also a very intelligent person. It doesn't hurt to have a guy like that back there."

The last 11 months have been difficult for Anthony and Eldrie Scott, with every holiday or milestone bringing another reminder. They had lost their only child, something they pray no other parent has to experience.